A Child In Need
by chi-chan93
Summary: When one HamHam dissapears, will the rest begin to dissapear also? It seems like a chain of dissapearings! All to where, you may ask? A defenseless boy in the wild, Yuki, thats who. They all want to be his friend, but is it possible? Find out! NEW CHAPTER
1. Where's Panda?

**Where's Panda?**

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It was a beautiful, calm day. The birds were chirping happily, the wind blew softly through the trees. The wind blew Laura and Kana's hair slightly. They were walking to their next class.

"What a beautiful day!" Kana said as she spun in a circle. Laura giggled. "I should have let Oxnard outside for today," Kana thought out loud.

"Let him out? But wouldn't he run away, or get lost?" Laura asked curiously.

"No, I mean put his _cage_ outside. I wouldn't let Oxnard escape! You and I _both_ know that I'd just _die _if Oxnard was gone." Kana said as she opened the door for Laura.

"Oh…right." Laura said blushing. She probably sounded stupid. She walked in the door and walked with Kana back to class, just as the bell rang.

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"Awright everybody lets have a party!" Howdy said dancing. Boss had called a meeting yesterday that everyone should meet at the Clubhouse today. They were going to have a party! They had all sorts of food (mostly sunflower seeds), and tons of games to play. Everyone was here so far. Except…

"Hey where's Panda?" Sandy asked suddenly. "Didn't you invite him Boss?" Sandy scuttled over to Boss. "Well?"

"Of course I did!" Boss said loudly. "Maybe he's sick?"

"Oh that would be just awful!" Bijou said, like she was about to burst into tears. "Poor Panda, miss our party? We must not start without him!" She also walked over to Boss. "Boss, will you go find Panda?" Bijou said with puppy eyes. She knew he'd do whatever she wanted.

Boss blushed slightly. "Uh, sure. Yeah! Of course! Like you said, we cant start till every Ham-Ham is here!" Boss shouted.

"Yeah!" the rest of the Ham-Hams shouted.

"Well, I'll be back then," Boss said as she headed out the door. He closed the door shut.

"What do we do until he gets back?" Hamtaro asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Lets dance!" Howdy said, dancing a little more.

"I'd rather read…" Maxwell said shyly.

"How about everyone can do whatever they want?" Pashmina said loudly.

"Chu! Chu!" Penelope said enthusiastically.

A few minutes later, Hamtaro, Bijou, and Howdy were dancing to some music Howdy was singing. They laughed and danced and occasionally fell, or stepped on each others feet. In another corner, Maxwell and Dexter were reading some books Maxwell had brought. Cappy and Oxnard were trying to sneak some food, managing to get a few sunflower seeds to eat under the table. Pashmina and Penelope were playing with a small toy June had given Pashmina. Stan and Sandy were fighting over Stan's maraca's. And of course, Snoozer was, well, sleeping.

Suddenly Boss burst through the door. "Panda is gone!" he exclaimed. "I went to his house and he wasn't there. So I sniffed around a bit, and I could smell his tracks but they were hours old. He must of left last night!" Boss said tiredly, panting.

"Where would he have gone?" Bijou asked worriedly. "His owners will be very worried about him."

"I don't know Bijou, but maybe we should look for him." Hamtaro said bravely. "I say we all go on an adventure to look for him tomorrow, if he isn't back yet."

"Well I guess we wont be needing these sunflower seeds," Oxnard said as he grabbed a few more.


	2. Into the Forest

**Adventure Into The Woods...  
**

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The next morning, Hamtaro arose and did a few stretches. He yawned as he listened to Laura getting ready for school. He had stayed up later then usual wondering where they would be exploring to. The day before he had promised to lead the Ham-Hams to find Panda, if he wasn't here this morning. Hamtaro was to leave as soon as Laura was out of site, to the clubhouse. Then they would all go to see if Panda was home yet. By what Boss had said, Hamtaro doubted Panda would be back. Just then he heard Laura.

"Come on mom, I'm going to be late!" Laura called to her mother as she ran out of the room. Hamtaro listened to her run down the stairs and slid out of his cage. He jumped up onto a chair and onto Laura's desk. He cautiously looked out the window. They were gone. 'Finally...' Hamtaro thought as he jumped back down from the desk. He ran through the little crack, barely fitting. 'I need to lose some of my hamster chub!' he laughed to himself as he slid down onto the soft Brandy below. Brandy barely noticed, he just slightly opened his eyes. Hamtaro slid down his ear onto the soft grass. He started running towards the clubhouse.

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Hamtaro was running through the park when he heard a whisper. "Hamtaro!" the whisper said to him.

"Hello?" Hamtaro said. He had heard the voice before, but he wasn't sure.

"Over here!" the voice said, and Hamtaro walked closer to it. Suddenly Panda popped out from behind a tree.

"Panda!" Hamtaro exclaimed, grabbing his paw. "Thank goodness I found you! We have to go back to the others."

"No." Panda said grabbing his paw away. "I need you to promise you wont tell anyone you found me."

"What..why?" Hamtaro asked, confused.

"Just trust me, and promise you wont tell. Please Hamtaro?" Panda pleaded. Hamtaro was shocked. Panda really seemed desperate.

"A..alright," said Hamtaro questioningly. "But you have to explain. Quickly, because I'm supposed to be at the clubhouse looking for you."

Panda looked around suspiciously. "Alright. I'll tell you.." Panda paused for a moment. "I was adventuring through the woods right? When this human boy came and I hid. But he saw me, and he found me. He seemed so lonely. He said he lived in the wilderness, alone. I cant leave him out there, he's so alone. So I've been staying out there, coming her for sunflower seeds every day."

Hamtaro looked stunned. He wasn't quite sure how that had all happened, but he somehow knew how Panda felt. "So what are you going to do? Your owners must be worried sick," Hamtaro told him, concerned.

"I know," Panda said, he was also concerned. "But he is like a friend to me now, and he's really nice. He shares what little he has with me."

"Alright, well I have to go before the Ham-Ham's get suspicious," Hamtaro said. "I'll see you tomorrow, same time?"

"Alright," Panda said as he dissapeared behind the tree again.

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Hamtaro wandered off, finally arriving at the clubhouse.

"Where were you?" asked Boss, angrily. "We've been waiting forever!"

"Sorry.." Hamtaro said. "Laura left late, I couldn't leave."

"Thats alright Hamtaro, as long as your here," Bijou butt in with a smile. Hamtaro smiled back at her. She always seemed to save his hide.

"So are we gonna go or what?" Pashmina asked, fastening her scarf.

"Uh, yeah." Hamtaro said. They rounded up the hamsters and left the clubhouse.


	3. Cant Find Panda!

**Cant Find Panda!**

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The Ham-Hams were walking to Panda's house aross town. They only stopped once, to find Oxnard's dropped sunflower seed. That was pretty good actually, seeing that Oxnard usually dropped it about three times. They finally got to Panda's house.

"I volunteer to clime up and see if he's there!" Hamtaro said as started to scramble up the tree. He already knew he wouldn't be there, but he couldn't give that away. He had made a promise that he planned to keep. Hamtaro got up as far as he could and climbed up on a branch skillfully. He looked in the room, scanning it. 'No Panda,' Hamtaro thought to himself, images of them at the park flashing in his eyes. He shook his head to get out the images and climbed back to the trunk of the tree. He scurried back down, panting. "No Panda," Hamtaro said breathlessly as he got behind Boss again.

"I wonder where he wandered off to," Pashmina asked no one in particular. She looked truly concerned. The rest of the Ham-Ham's just shrugged. Hamtaro started to feel bad about not letting the others know, and therefore worrying them. But he remembered his promise once again.

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"Well, we're off!" Boss said independently. The Ham-Ham's quickly jumped behind him in a straight line, following behind him like ducklings. They hurried through town, quickly looking at the humans and animals and objects around them. Boss somehow flirted with Bijou and guided the Ham-Ham's at the same time. They wandered across town to a small field. "Maybe he's in here," Boss said to them all. They began to scurry through the wheat, weeds, and flowers.

"Panda!" Dexter called out. "Panda if your in here, stop wasting our time with these foolish games!"

"Oh yeah, yelling at him's gonna work!" Howdy told him.

"Well what do you suggest?" Dexter asked, annoyed.

"I say we stop and play some music, he's bound to find us!" Howdy laughed. Boss gave them both a stare, saying 'You guys, LOOK!' They quickly scurried off in different directions to look for him. Every couple of seconds you'd hear "Panda!" "PAAANDA!" but Panda was nowhere to be seen.

"We've been looking forever," Bijou said tiredly, although Boss hadn't made her look. "This is getting boring. I bet he just wandered off, I doubt he's hurt. It'd probally be better if we _dont_ look for him."

"Yeah!" Hamtaro said, enthusiastically. "He'll wander back anytime now."

Dexter looked at him strangely and pushed up his glasses. "If I recall, I believe _you_ were the one to suggest going on this little 'trip'." he said suspiciously.

Hamtaro was a bit nervous. "Well, uh, I just think we've searched enough for today, and, um, he can take care of himself." he said defensively. The Ham-Ham's, not being so smart, quickly agreed.

"Alright, then we'll head back," Boss said. "And get some shut eye! Its starting to get dark anyways." The Ham-Ham's looked to the sky.

"Yup, lets be on our way then," Maxwell said, instinctively getting behind Boss. Boss felt good being thought of as leader, so he quickly started back to the clubhouse, the Hams following behind him. They walked across town once again, not forgeting to look around, just incase Panda was still around. Once they finally got back to the clubhouse, they all waved goodbye and headed back to their houses. It was just Hamtaro and Oxnard.

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Hamtaro walked, knowing the way back by heart. He had his eyes on the grass, thinking about Panda. "Hamtaro, are you listening?" Hamtaro suddenly heard. His head shot up as he looked around stupidly.

"Uh, no. What were you saying?" Hamtaro said, feeling a bit inconsiderate.

"I said, where do you think Panda wandered off too?" Oxnard said, almost dropping his sunflower seed.

"I uh..Dont know," Hamtaro said, feeling queasy. Now he was directly lying to his best friend. Suddenly, Hamtaro was right by his house. "Uh, see you later!" Hamtaro waved as he ran over to the house and up the gutter. He quickly ran over and into his cage, just before Laura walked in.

"Hey Hamtaro!" Laura said with a smile. "How were you today?"

'Horrible,' Hamtaro thought. Before he knew it, Laura was still asleep and Hamtaro was restlessly trying. He turned over in his cage, thinking about Panda. 'What should I say to him tomorrow?' he thought. 'What should I do?' Suddenly he knew. 'I'll go with him.'


	4. The Journey

**The Journey**

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It seemed like Hamtaro had just fallen asleep when he heard Laura's happy morning peppiness. "Good morning Hamtaro!" she squealed at him as she usually did. Why was she so happy all the time? Hamtaro shook his head and yawned. "Bye Hamtaro!" she said as she ran out the door. Hamtaro began to think of what he had fallen asleep thinking about. 'It's crazy,' he told himself. 'But I think it has to be done.' He squeezed under his door and between the crack again. Down, down, down, plop.

"Hey Brandy!" Hamtaro said as he fell off and scurried towards the park. Brandy yawned and went back to sleep. Hamtaro ran as fast as his feet could carry him, he didn't want to miss Panda. "Eeek!" he screamed as a tire almost ran him over, crossing a street. He continued to scurry towards the forest. He had been by here yesterday, the forest was past the field they had been in. He ran through the wheat, finally reaching the beginnings of the forest. He stood in front of the tree that Panda had been behind the day before. He decided to practice what he would say on the tree.

"I want to come with you," he began. "Everyone is worried but maybe we could get everyone to come." Suddenly Panda walked around from behind the tree.

"Really?" he asked. Hamtaro jumped a bit.

"Um, yes." he said, blushing for some reason.

"Then lets grab some food and go, and I'll introduce you to him."

"Really?"

"Yup." Hamtaro slowly got next to Panda. "And we're off!" Panda said as he started walking into the field again. "Do the Ham-Hams know your coming?"

"No, I didn't tell anyone I wanted to join you. I didn't even tell anyone that I knew where you were," Hamtaro said proudly.

"Good."

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They continued through the field, more slowly this time, not in any kind of hurry. Hamtaro started wondering what his new life would be like. Adventurous, fun, new. But then he thought of how sad Laura would be...he shook the thought out of his head. Suddenly, before he knew it, they were at the park. "Alright, we're here!" Panda said triumphantly.

"Huh?" Hamtaro asked. "What can we get here?"

"Why of course, a drink from the fountain and sunflower seeds!" he said running off towards a huge fountain in the middle of the park. "But hurry, if you dont go quick someone will see you!" Hamtaro nervously looked around and ran in Panda's direction. He climbed up the side of the fountain, and into the shallow water. He drank big gulps of it, thirsty from running to find Panda. Then he saw Panda getting out so he followed him.

"Where are the sunflowers?" Hamtaro asked. He hadn't been to the park very much.

"Right here," Panda told him as he stopped. Hamtaro looked up and saw at least a dozen tall sunflowers. Then he looked down by his feet. Hunderds of sunflower seeds lay there on the ground. It was truly hamster heaven. He began picking up as many as he could carry. Panda carefully packed him into a tiny back pack and carried some in his arms. "We can share, it'll be plenty before tomorrow." he said with a smile. "Lets go, so you can meet Yuji." Hamtaro looked confused.

"Who's Yugi?" he asked.

"The human boy, duh!" Panda laughed. "Come on."

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Hamtaro and Panda walked slowly back through the field again, making sure not to drop any sunflower seeds. They finally got to the forest _again_. This is as far as Hamtaro had ever came. He looked into the big forest with the many trees. "It was scary at first," Panda said, breaking the silence.

"What was?" Hamtaro asked.

"Going into the forest," he replied back.

"How did you know thats what I was th-" Hamtaro started.

"I know." Panda replied. It was silent for a second. "But, it gets better." Panda grabbed Hamtaro's hand and led him into the dark, cold forest.

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"Where _is_ he?" Bijou asked impatiently and worried, deffiently more worried then she was about Panda.

"Maybe he's.." Cappy yawned. "Gone missing too."

"Where the heck IS everybody!" Boss asked irritably. "Hamtaro wouldn't just wander off on his own."

"He seemed nervous yesterday," Oxnard said, playing with his sunflower seed. Suddenly everyone crowded around him.

"Nervous?" Maxwell asked. "How? This could be valuable information to my 'case'."

"What _case?_" Dexter asked.

"The Case of the Missing Hamsters, of course!" Maxwell said as he pulled out a book. "This book is about a detective. He solves all _sorts_ of mysteries. I bet I could be just like him!"

"I know where they are!" Howdy laughed. Everyone was quiet, obviously waiting for an answer. "They're _not_ here! Hyuk hyuk hyuk!" he laughed stupidly. The Ham-Ham's just shook their heads, as in thinking 'Do I know him?'

"Well anyways, answer the question. How was he nervous?" Maxwell asked, looking at Oxnard again.

"Uh, well, he wasn't listening to me at all, and he was real fast to get back to his house." Oxnard scratched his chin as in thinking. "Thats about it."

Maxwell thought hard about this for a moment. "I have no idea why." The Ham-Ham's sighed.

"And he's supposed to be the smart one!" Howdy laughed.


End file.
